glUrmjj of (&ttn$vt$#. 



®he) 



H,,BXT3l33 






UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



S E R M O 

CONTAINING 

REFLECTIONS ON THE 



SOLAR ECLIPSE, 

Which appeared on june 16, 1806, 
DELIVERED 



ON THE LORD** DAY FOLLOWING* 



by JOSEPH LATHROP, D. D. 
Paster of the Jirst Church in West-Springjielrf* 



SECOND EDITION. 




SPRINGFIELD, Mass. 

HENRY BREWER— PRINTER, 



AMOS, vin. 9. 

It fhall come to pafs in that day, faith the Lord, that I will caufe the fun to 
go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day. 



A, 



JVIOS was bred an hufbandman and a 
fhepherd. From his rural employment he was 
called to the office of a prophet. He fays, " I 
was not a prophet, nor the fon of a prophet ; 
but I was an herdman and a gatherer of fycamore 
fruit. And the Lord took me, as I followed the 
flock, and faid unto me, go, prophefy unto my 
people Ifrael." 

Many expreflions in his book are taken from 
obfervations, which a fhepherd would naturally 
make in attending to the bufinefs of his calling. 
In Judea the fhepherds watched their flocks, not 
by day only, but alfo by night, to guard them 
again ft beafts of prey, in which that country a- 
bounded. And, in their attendance on their 
flocks, they would naturally obferve the motions 
of the planets, and the appearances in the heav- 
ens, that they might forefee changes of weather 
and approaching ftorms. Hence the prophet, 
calling on the degenerate tribes of Ifrael to re- 
nounce their falfe gods, and to worfhip the great 
author and governor of nature, ufes a language 
fuggefted by his former paftoral occupation. 
" Seek not Bethel, enter not into Gilgal, nor 
pafs to Beerfheba," the idolatrous places, where 
the fun and moon, and hofts of heaven were 
worfhipped ; " but feek him, who maketh the 
feven ftars and Orion ; and turneth the fhadow 
of death into the morning, and maketh the day 
dark with night," 



C 4 3 

The ftated courfe of nature, the order of the 
heavenly bodies, the viciflltude of day and night, 
and the regular fucceflion of feafons, demon- 
flrate the exiftence and providence, the wifdom, 
power and goodnefs of God. " Day unto day 
uttereth fpeech ; night unto night fheweth forth 
knowledge/' " God h^th not left himfelf with- 
out witnefs, in that he giveth rain and fruitful 
feafons, and filleth our hearts with food and glad- 
nefs." But common appearances, as they be- 
come more familiar, are lefs impreflive. Unufu- 
al phenomena, though no lefs the effects of nat* 
ural caufes, more powerfully arreft the attention, 
and more deeply afFed the mind. The prophet, 
therefore, predicting fome dire calamities on the 
houfe of Ifrael, alludes to an unufual and folemn 
appearance in the fkies, which probably they had 
lately feen ; a total eclipfe of the fun in the midft 
of a clear day. " Thus faith the Lord, I will 
caufe the fun to go down at noon, and I will dar- 
ken the earth in the clear day." The phenome- 
non which we beheld, on Monday laft, will nat- 
urally lead us to underftand theie words, as a po* 
etic defcription of a folar eclipfe, 

Archbifliop Uflier, in his annals of the world, 
fays, That in Amos's time, there were two re-, 
markable eclipfes of the fun, which happened at 
folemn feftivals, and ftruck the people with great 
confirmation. In ancient times, when aftrono- 
my was but imperfectly underftood, eclipfes 
were by many coniidered, as preternatural and 
portentous. The prophet, therefore, foretelling 
the judgments coming on the land of Ifrael, 
might with great propriety figure to them the 
changes foon to take place in their political hem- 
ifphere, by an allufion to the change, which they 
had feen, with tenor and amazement, in the 



C 5 3 

natural hemisphere. " God would caufe their 
fun to go down at noon, darken the earth in the 
clear day, turn their feafts into mourning, and 
their fongs into lamentation, and bring up fack- 
cloth on all loins. " 

The ufe, which the prophet makes of a folar 
eclipfe will juftify us in fome moral and religious 
refie&ions on the lingular fcene, which was ex- 
hibited in the paft week, 

i. We have reafon to rejoice in the progrefs, 
which has been made in the fciences, and partic- 
ularly in the noble fcience of aftronomy. By this 
we are freed from many fuperftitious terrors, 
which, in the dark ages of the world, tormented 
mankind. 

Eclipfes have been obferved from the remoteft 
antiquity ; and of thofe which were moft re- 
markable, accounts have been tranfmitted to us 
by fome of the earlieft hiftorians, who have alfo 
related the difaftrous events which followed, and 
which the eclipfes were fuppofed to portend. 

The caufe of eclipfes muft have been known 
long before they could be the fubjecls of mathe- 
matical calculation. It was well underftood, ma- 
ny ages ago, that an eclipfe of the moon was 
caufed by its pafling through the fhadow of the 
e^vrth, when the earth was between that and the 
fun ; and that an eclipfe of the fun was caufed 
by the moon's pafling between us and the fun, 
and intercepting its light. This knowledge, 
however, was not common to the vulgar j nor 
did the more learned view thefe caufes as opera- 
ting by regular and ftated laws. 

There were predictions of fome eclipfes, which 
appeared feveral centuries before the birth of our 
faviour. But thefe predictions were probably, 
like the prefent predictions of comets, conjethircs 



[6 ] 

grounded on a courfe of observations, and not 
the refult of exact calculations. 

The relations, diftances and motions of the 
heavenly bodies are now fo well afcertained, that 
accurate calculations can be made of all the eclip- 
fes, which fhall be in ages to come, and of thofe 
which have been, iince our fyftem was framed. 
Thefe calculations are of great utility to mankind, 
in hufbandry, navigation, geography, chronolo- 
gy and hiftory, The credit of fome ancient hif- 
tories derives confirmation from this fource. 
The hiftorian relates fome great events, which he 
fuppofes, were portended by a certain eclipfe, 
which he defcribes. The aftronomer finds, that 
there was in faft, fuch an eclipfe, at fuch a time, 
and hence juftiy gives more full credit to the hif- 
torian, 

Thefe phenomena have alfo their moral ufes, 
They enlarge our views of the works of God, 
and of the grandeur and extent of his creation 
and providence. They difplay his wifdom, pow- 
er and goodneis, and his continual agency in the 
government of the world. They teach us his 
constant care for the creatures, which he has 
made, and call us to reverence and adore him, 
who thus manifefts himfelf to us in the works of 
his hands. 

We fee innumerable worlds rolling around us 
at vaftbut various diftances ; with different, but 
inconceivable rapidity. Thefe all perform their 
motions with regularity, and obferve their times 
with exactnefs. They obey their deftination, 
they keep their order, they never interfere. Shall 
we not fear the power, admire the wifdom, adore 
the goodnefs of that being, who made and adjuft- 
ed, who fuftains and directs fuch a ftupendous 
fyfiem, and renders it fubfervient to our happi- 



C 7 ] 

jiefs ? Thefe rational fentiments are pleafant and 
delightful in themfelves ; and are far more con- 
ducive to piety and virtue, than the terrors of 
that fuperflitious ignorance, which views every 
comet flaming in the fey, every obfcuration of 
the fun at noonday, every failure of the full 
orbed moon at night, every unufual noife burft- 
ing from the clouds, evdfcy ftrange appearance in 
the heavens and in the earth, as awfully porten- 
tous of fome dire, but unknown calamity. 

Superftitious terrors may operate as a tempo- 
rary reftraint from vice. But when the dreaded 
calamity is delayed, the reftraint ceafes, and vice 
regains its dominion. A rational fear of God, 
arifing from a calm contemplation of his agency 
and government, difplayed in his works, and 
taught in his word, will have a fteady and perma- 
nent influence. u Fear ye not me, faith the 
Lord, will ye not tremble at my prefence, who 
have placed the fand for the bound of the fea ? 
who give the former and the latter rain, and re- 
ferve to you the appointed weeks of harveft V 3 
The more juft are our thoughts of God's govern- 
ment, and the more rational our reverence of his 
majefty, the more uniform and cheerful will be 
our obedience to his will. 

2. An eclipfe of the fun, though it is not an 
omen of any particular calamity, yet may pro- 
perly lead us to contemplate the gloomy changes 
which await us in this guilty and mortal ftate. 

By a total obfcuration of this glorious lumina- 
ry, at noon, in a clear day, a gloom is fuddenly 
fpread over the face of nature. Not only the hu- 
man mind, but the animal and material creation 
is deeply affe&ed. Night feems to anticipate the 
time of its return. The ftars hang out their 
lamps • the dews defcend on the earth j the graz- 



I * 3 

iiig beafts forget their hunger ; the fowls haften 
to their refting places ; the bird of night chants 
his evening ditty j every thing wears a fober and 
mournful afpecl 

Here is an emblem of declining age and ap- 
proaching death. 

The time is coming — to fome of us it is near ; 
when the fun and the light will be darkened j the 
eyes, which look out at the windows, will be be- 
dimmed, furrounding obje&s will be hidden, and 
" we fhali go to our long home — to the fend of 
darknefs and the ftiadow of death, without any 
order, and where the light is as darknefs." 

"While we have the light, let us walk in the 
light, left darknefs come upon us. Let us give 
glory to God, before he caufe darknefs, and be- 
fore our feet ftumble on the dark mountains j 
left, w 7 hile we look for light, it be turned into 
the ftiadow of death." The eyes of our under- 
ftanding ftill remain unextinguifhed, and the fun 
of righteoufnefs ftiines upon us with falvation in 
Ms beams. Let us attend to the glorious difcov- 
eries which are made to us, and apply ourfelves 
to the momentous work before us. Let us work 
while it is day. The time is fhort — night is at 
hand. What we find to do, let us do it with 
our might. There is no work in the grave. 

Some of you are in youth and in full ftrength* 
My friends, your morning fun ftiines bright and 
pleafant ; you think your day will be long. But, 
oh ! flatter not yourfelves. Your fun may go 
down at noon, and your profpecl be darkened 
in a clear day. Employ thefe morning hours in 
the work of your falvation. You know not 
what a day, or an hour may bring forth. 

The darknefs of an eclipfe the prophet im- 
proves, though not as an omen, yet as an em- 



t 9 3 

blem of national judgments. He warns his peo- 
ple that a metaphorical and political darknefs may 
overfpread their country, in the fame furprizing 
manner, as literal darknefs in a folar eclipfe falls 
on the unfufpecting earth. " Thus faith the 
Lord unto me, An end is come upon my people ; 
I will not pafs by them any more. Hear this, ye 
that fwallow up the needy, and that fay, When 
will the new moon be gone, that we may fell 
corn, and the fabbath, that we may let forth 
wheat ? The Lord hath fworn by the excellency 
of Jacob, Surely I will not forget any of their 
works. Shall not the land tremble for this, and 
eyery one mourn that dwelleth therein ? Thus 
faith the Lord, I will darken the earth in the 
clear day. I will turn their feafts into mourn- 
ing, and their fongs into lamentation. " 

Sudden darknefs caufed by eclipfes, clouds, 
vapours and ftorms, is, in the prophetic wri- 
tings, a common figure for great and unexpect- 
ed plagues ; fuch as war, difcord, peftilence and 
famine. The prophet Ifaiah, defcribing the ca- 
lamitous ftate of the Jews, on the invafion of. 
the Chaldeans, fays, " They {hall look to the 
earth, and behold, trouble and darknefs, and 
dimnefs of anguifti ; they fhall be driven into 
darknefs." In the fame figurative language, Jo- 
el defcribes the devaftation and famine caufed in 
the land by clouds of devouring locufts, and by 
the rage of fubfeqiient fires. " Let all tHe in- < 
habitants of the land tremble ; for the day of the 
Lordcometh and is nigh at hand ; a day of dark- 
nefs and gloomincfs, of clouds and thick dark- 
nefs. There fhall be wonders in the heavens and 
in the earth ; there ihallbe pillars of fmoke, and 
the fun fhall be turned into darknefs. " 
B 



[ "> I 

T* r lien we fee the fun darkened in the heavens, 
and the earth covered with a gloom, we are re- 
minded, how eafy it is for Him, who in a mo- 
ment extinguifhes the fan, to call ia cloud over 
our earthly profpects ; to turn our joys into an- 
guifh, our confidence into terror, arid our fongs 
into lamentation — to fubvert our national fecu- 
rity, to let loofe the infernal fpirit of difcord, 
to remove reftraint from hoftile nations, tp fejiq 
a biaft on the labours of our hands, and to fpread 
among us peitilence and death. 

On God we are dependant not only for the 
daily viHts of the fun, but alfo for his friendly 
beams, when he returns. The moon, which 
chafes away the gloom of night, now and then 
fteps in, and intercepts the light of day. If it 
fhould make a ftand in that pofition, our day 
would become night, and the warmth of rum- 
mer would be changed into the froft of winter. 
But the moon obeys the divine command, moves 
forward in its courfe, and gives us again the 
cheering beams, which it had, for a few mo- 
ments withholden. 

The creatures, which are our ordinary com- 
forts, may, by God's direction or permiflion, 
become the occalions of affliction and anguilh. 
The fun, which enlivens the rational, animal and 
vegetable world, may dart malignant fires and 
fcatter peftilential difeafes. The rains, which re- 
frefh and fructify our fields, may u walh away 
the things which grow out of the earth, and 
deftroy the hope of man." ' The friends in whom 
we confide may become our tormentors, and 
u a man's foes may be thofe of his own houfe- 
hold. r> Government, which is our defence a- 
gainii injuftice, fraud and violence, falling into 



L IJ 1 

the- hands .of cruel and unprincipled men, may 
be made an inftrument of oppreffion and mile- 
ry. " They who lead us may caufe us to err, 
anddeilroy'the way of our paths. 55 

Where then is our fecurity r It is in the protec- 
tion of Him, who created and upholds the frame 
of nature, " who made and guides the feven 
ftars and Orion, turns the lhadow of death into 
the morning, or makes the day dark with night" 
— " who calleth to the waters and fends them 
on the earth, and reftrains the floods 55 within 
the bounds prefcribed — " who rules the raging 
of the fea, and ftills the tumults of the people 55 — 
" who turns the hearts of men, as the rivers of 
water are turned 55 — *? who caufes the wrath of 
men to praife him, and the remainder of that 
wrath he reftrains. 55 How {hall we enjoy Ills 
protection ? He has told us, " If ye will walk in 
my ilatutes, keep my fabbaths and reverence my 
fanctuary, then I will give you rain in due fea- 
fon, your fields ihali yield their increafe ; I will 
give peace in your land, and ye {hall lie dow r n 
and none fhall make you afraid. 55 — " But if ye 
will walk contrary unto me, I will walk contra- 
ry unto you, and make your plagues wonderful/' 

Learned aftronomers can calculate with exact - 
nefs the times when, the places where, and the 
quantities in which the luminaries of heaven will 
be eclipfed ; but they cannot with the fame ac- 
curacy predict the judgments of God. Nor do 
we here need their aftronomical (kill. There are 
other figns by which we may difcern impending 
judgments. Our faviour has taught us a kind 
of moral aftronomy to direct our prefcience of 
fuch events. The prevalence of infidelity, im- 
morality and vice 3$ furely indicates approaching 



I 12 j 

calamities, as clouds indicate a fhower, winds 
forebode a ftorm, or the conjunction, or oppofi- 
tion of the fun and moon, in certain places in 
the heavens, prefignify an edipfe. He faid to 
the people, " When ye fee a cloud rife out of 
the weft, ftraitway, ye fay, There cometh a 
fhower ; and fo it is. When ye perceive the 
fouth wind blow, ye fay, There will be heat ; 
and it cometh to pafs. Ye hypocrites, *ye can 
difcern the face of the fky and of the earth ; but 
how is it, that ye cannot difcern this time ? Yea, 
and why even of yourfelves judge ye not what 
is right ?" The blindnefs and ftupidity of the 
ancient Jews to the impending judgments of God, 
the prophet upbraids by referring them to the 
fagacity and uifcernment apparent in the fowls of 
heaven. " The ftork in the heavens knoweth 
her appointed time j the turtle, the crane and 
the fwallow obferve the time of their coming ; 
but my people knoweth not the judgments of 
God/" 

There are now, as there were in former times, 
many who afk, " Watchman, what of the nigh* ? 
Watchman, what of the night V* And the watch- 
man's anfwer then, is feafonable now, " If ye 
will enquire, enquire ye" wifely ; " return, 
come," return to God by repentance ; then come 
and enquire, and you may hope for a favorable 
aniwer. 

It is common for people to look forward and 
enquire, what will be our national itate in future 
years — what will be the remit of certain public 
meafures — what fhall be done to obtain this fa- 
vorite object, and avert that threatening evil, 
and to make future times better than thefe ? But 
they enouire not wifelv concerning this matter, 



f 13 ] 

Let them enquire what iniquities abound, and 
what lhare their own iniquities have in the com- 
mon guilt ? Let each one repent of his own wick- 
ednefs, and apply himfelf to his own duty. Let 
each one ufe his beft influence to correct the er- 
rors, and reform the manners of thofe with whom 
iie is connected. Then things will go well. 
<c Righteoufnefs will exalt a nation. Sin will be 
a reproach to any people/ * 

3, The darkening of the earth in a clear day 
brings to mind the final fudgmeizt. 

The fcripture affnres us> that " God has ap- 
pointed a day, in which he will judge the world 
in righteoufnefs, and render to every man accord- 
ing to his works." It teaches tjs, that the 
judgment will come on a guilty world by furprife 
— that " when men fhall fay," peace and fafety, 
then fudden deftruction cometh."" The manner 
of its coming is compared to the cataftrophe of 
Sodom. " As it was in the days o r Lot ; they ate, 
they drank, they bought, they fold, they plant- 
ed, they builded. But the fame day, that Lot 
went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimftone 
out of heaven, and destroyed them all. Even fo 
fhall it be in that day when the fon of man is re- 
vealed." To heighten the folemnity of this fcene, 
the facrcd writers tell us, u The fun fhall be dark- 
ened, and the moon fhall not give her light ; the 
ftars fhall fall from heaven, and the powers of 
heaven fhall be fliaken — the heaven fhail depart 
as a fcroll when it is rolled together, and every 
mountain and ifland fhail be removed out of their 
place." What effect the expectation of fuch a day 
fhould have, St. Peter inftructs us. " Seeing all 
thefe things fhall be diiiblved, what manner of 
perfons ought we to be in all holy con verfati on 



i u J 

arid godlinefs, looking for and haftening unto the 
day of the Lord Let us be diligeat, that we 
may be found of the Lord in peace without fpot 
andblamelefs." 

You think that great day to be remote. Per- 
haps it is ior. But whether it be near or remote, 
k will came. And when it fhall come, it will be 
as real and important, as if it were now prefent* 
" Count the longfufiering of God's falvation. 
He* is not willing that you fliould perifli, but 
that you fhould come to repentance." 

Were you fure, that within ten or twenty 
years, the frame of nature, as well as the works 
of man, would be diffolved, the heavens with 
all their fplendours would vanifh, and the earth 
with all her furniture and inhabitants would pafs 
away, how vain would all your property, all 
■your defigns and labours appear ? What folly 
w r ould be ftampt on avarice, ambition, worldly 
grandeur and oitentation, political intrigues, par- 
ty contefts and animofities ? But, my fellow mor- 
tals, where is the mighty difference to you and 
me, whether the world is to be diiTolved within 
twenty years, or whether within that time we 
are to leave the world forever. The latter will 
certainly be the cafe with many of us in a fhorter, 
and with all of us in a little longer time than 
this. Under an imprefiive fenfe of this folemn 
truth, ht us banifh all worldly paffions, and di- 
rect our cares to the grand intereils of futurity. 

4. Total darknefs at noon-day reminds us of the 
folemn icene of the faviour's crucifixion. 

The evangeiifts tell us, that when Jefus hung 
on the crofs, " there was darknefs over all the 
land from the fixth to the ninth hour ;" or, ac- 
cording to our calendar, from midday to the 



C <5 3 

third hour ; « and the fun was darkened." The 
darknefs continued for three hours. This, we 
know, ctmld be no natural eclipfe 3 for, in the 
eclipfe of the week paft, which appeared to be 
central, the total objuration continued but about 
four minutes. 

The darknefs at the crucifixion was very ex« 
tenfive. It was " over all the land." Yea, it 
was beyond the land of Judea ; or " over all the 
earth" as the words are, in one place, render- 
ed. It was obferved in countries diftant from 
Judea ; and is related by profane hiftorians, as a 
phenomenon, for which no natural caufe could 
be affigned. In a natural eclipfe, the total dark- 
nefs cannot be of very great extent. I'have had 
correct information, that within the fpace of 
Iefs than two hundred miles, from north to fouth, 
a fegment of the fun appeared during the whole 
time of the late eclipfe. 

Nay, farther, at the time of the crucifixion 
there could be no natural eclipfe, for the fun and 
moon were then in oppofition. Chrift was cru- 
cified at the time of the paffover. The paffover 
was to begin on the fourteenth day of the month* 
The Jewifti month began at the firft appearance 
of the new moon. On the fourteenth day, the 
moon, being full, and in oppofition to the fun, 
could not caufe an eclipfe. The obfcuration 
therefore muft have been preternatural and mi- 
raculous. 

That there really was fuch an obfcuration is 
indubitable. It is recorded by three of the evan- 
gelifts, who puhlifhed their narrative fo foon af- 
ter the crucifixion, that many ipcdators of the 
fcene, both friends and enemies to Chrift, v . 
ftil! living. They would not have afferted fueh 



C 16 ] 

k ftrangc phenomenon, as being universally 
known, in that and neighboring countries, and 
as having happened on a certain day, if it had 
not been a fact ; for every man, woman and 
youth, living at that time, would have been able 
to contradict it. Had the evangelifts been im- 
poftors, they would not have published a falfe- 
hood of this kind ; for nothing could have been 
more fatal to their caufe* There is no room to 
queftion the reality of the fact. 

This darknefs, the earthquake, and the rend- 
ing of the vai! of the temple, which occurred at 
the fame time, had a great effect on the fpecta- 
tors. The commanding officer, who ftood by 
thecrofs of Jefus, ltruck with aftonifliment, faid, 
" Surely this was the ion of God." " Arid all 
the people, who came together to that fight, be- 
holding what was done, fmote their breafts, and 
returned." 

Thefe miraculous appearances in the earth and 
in the heavens, at the time, when Jefus was fuf- 
fering on the crofs, were fuch divine atteftations 
in his favour, as reafon could not refift 5 and they 
were alfo molt awful indications of the wrath of 
God againft the horrid and impious work, which 
the infidel Jews were then tranfacting, 

But were thefe the only perfons againft whom 
the darknefs denounced the anger of heaven ? 
No ; It equally manifefled, and ftill it nianifefts 
the amazing guilt of all unbelievers under the 
gcfpel — of ail who are enemies to the bleffed Je- 
fus- — of all who defpife and oppofe his religion. 

Infidelity and impiety involve in them the 
fame guilt now, as in former times. The gof- 
pel comes to us with equal evidence and author- 
ity, as it came to the Jews. They who reject it. 



c h ] 

crucify afrefh its heavenly author, and are bring- 
ing on themfelves fwift deftruction — To fuch is 
reierved the blacknefs of darknefs forever. As 
they walk in the darknefs of unbelief and wick- 
ednefs, they will fall into the darknefs of mifery 
and defpair. " When the Lord Jefus fhall be re- 
vealed from heaven, he will come in flaming fire, 
and will take vengeance on them who know not 
God, and on them who obey not the gofpeL" 

5. The temporary darknefs of an eclipfe is fol- 
lowed with cheerful light, which " fhines more 
and more unto the perfect day." This is a na- 
tural emblem of that moral change, in which ft 
foul is brought out of the darknefs of fin and 
guilt into the marvellous light of purity, pardon 
and peace. 

How fad and gloomy is the condition of a 
guilty mortal, who, convinced of his numerous 
tranfgreflions, feels himfelf condemned to eter- 
nal death. The divine law, which was delivered 
from Sinai, in fmoke and darknefs, in clouds 
and tempeft, thunders terror and detraction in 
his ears. But how happily is his itate reverfed, 
when light, beaming from mount Sion, in the 
difcoveries and promifes of the gofpel, breaks in 
on his foul, exhibits to him a dying faviour, a 
forgiving God, a fanctifying fpirit ? What joy 
fprings up, when he finds the power of fin fub- 
dued — his enmity to God ilain — his cppofition 
to the gofpel conquered — -and every thought cap- 
tivated to the obedience of Chrift ? The light is 
fweet, and its fweetnefs is increafed by its iuc- 
ceeding to previous darknefs. So the hopes and 
comforts of religion in the foul are exalted by 
their contrail to preceding anxieties and fears. 

Ye awakened, defponding fouls, look up to 



L i» 1 

the fun of rlghteoufnefs. He dines from heav- 
en with felvation in his beams. However guilty, 
unworthy and impotent ye feel, there is grac§ 
iufiicient for you ; there is righteoufnefs to juf- 
tify you, promiies to iupport you, the fpirit to 
help you. Light arifes in darknefs. Turn your 
eyes from the cloud/ and direct them to the fun. 
Chrift came a light into the world, that whofo- 
ever believeth in him fhould not walk in dark* 
nefs. Look to him, and be ye faved. 

Finally : The obfcuration of the fun in thefky 
bids us contemplate the uninturrupted brightness 
of the heavenly ftate. Could we rife above the 
moon, the fun which is eclipfed to the inhabitants 
of the earth, would fhine to us in all its fplen- 
dour. When the Chriftian has the moon under 
his feet, he will be clothed with the fun, and 
crowned with ftars. 

There is no darknefs, no night in heaven : all 
is light ; all is glcry there. 

In heaven there is the light of purity, and love. 
The pure in heart fliall fee God ; he is light ; in 
him is no darknefs. Nothing enters into his pre-, 
fence that defiles. 

There is the light of knowledge — glorious dif- 
coveries of God — of the faviour — of the works 
of providence and grace* — of the wonders of cre- 
ation and redemption. Here we fee through a 
glais darkly ; there we ihali fee face to face. Here 
we know in part, there we ib.aH know as we are 
know n. 

The light of heaven is conilant ; it is never 
eclipfed nor clouded. The holy city needs not 
the fun to fhine in it, for the glory of God doth 
lighten it, and Jefus is the light thereof, The 



C 19 3 

nations of them who are faved fhall walk in the 
light of it, and there fhall be no night there. 

How different will be the ftate of good men in 
heaven from that which they experience on 
earth ? Here they have fome light, but it is often 
inturrupted, and always dim. How little do 
they know of God and his works — how much 
error is mixed with their faith — how much 
doubt 5 with their hope — how much fear with 
their courage ; how much carnality with their 
devotion ? In heaven it will be otherwife. 
Knowledge there will be full without error, cer- 
tain without perplexity and clear without confu- 
fion. Holinefs will be perfect without fin, and 
refined without drofs and corruption. And they 
will ferve God continually without relu dance or 
wearinefs. 

Let us begin the life, and accuftom ourfelves. 
to the works of heaven, while we dwell on earth, 
that we may be prepared for admiffion into heav- 
en, when we depart hence. Here God Iheds 
down fome beams of heavenly light to invite our 
thoughts and affections upward. The light is 
mingled with {hades, and interrupted with 
clouds, becaufe this is a ftate of trial, and our 
faith and patience muft be exercifed. Here we 
mull walk by faith j w r e cannot walk by fight, 
? It is by faith and patience, that we inherit the 
promifes." " We are faved by hope. But hope 
thatisfeenis not hope ; for what a man feeth, 
why doth he yet hope for ? And if we hope for 
that which we fee not, then do wc with patience 
wait for it. And the fpirit helpeth our infirmi- 
ties, and maketh interceilion for us according to 
the will of God." 



[ 20 ] 

It is but little, that we can at prefent know of 
heaven ; but " then iliall we know, if we follow 
on to know the Lord." Let our fouls follow 
hard after him ; for what is there, which we can 
defire in comparifon with him ? * It doth not yet 
appear what we fhall be. But when our Lord 
fhall come, we truft, that we fhall be like him, 
and fee him as he is. And having this hope, let 
/us purify ourfelves as he is pure." 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proces 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: April 2006 

PreservationTechnoiogie; 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATIO 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



